Summer Body Experiment July Check-In!

[Warning: this post abuses exclamation points. I am about to head down to the beach with my friends, and I’m incredibly excited.]

A few weeks ago, I talked about my summer body experiment, and I promised I’d check back in on July 1, August 1 and September 1 to let you know how it was going.

Below are my goals, and in bold, my progress.

• pick and begin marathon training schedule by July 1. (Also considering training with a group. Does anyone know anything about non-fundraising marathon training groups?) Check! I found a running coach, and he’s helping me with my schedule.
• Get back to Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday or Sunday running schedule. Other than some travel? Mostly check!
• Mondays and Wednesdays will be strength. I’m not sure what this will look like yet, because I’m still figuring out my gym situation. Oh strength…yeah. I’ve been doing strength at least once a week and need to just keep pushing myself to do it more.
• Add some ab work in (maybe a la Angela @ Oh She Glows Whittle My Middle) to both tone my abs and reduce lower back pain. Half-check? I’ve been doing some ab work, but it’s sort of half-hearted. Of course I did a little last-ditch ab work yesterday immediately before hopping into a bikini. My last-minute ab routine: 1 minute regular plank, one minute each side plank, 20 push ups, 100 regular crunches, 100 oblique crunches on each side.
• Fridays (and really any other time I can fit it in, too) will be for yoga. Serious fail. I need much more yoga in my life.
• The weekend day I don’t run will be for a rest day. (Um, yeah. I don’t have any problems with rest days.)
• Cut way back on wheat and dairy. (Caveat: once I finish the wheat products currently in my kitchen). Check. I even tried vegan cheese. While cutting back some on wheat and dairy has made me feel a little less bloated, it hasn’t really changed how my stomach feels, which reminds me that so much of my stomach issues are related to stress. (See also: need more yoga in my life.)
• But experiment with re-adding salads (which sometimes bother my stomach) and Greek yogurt (which I miss like crazy and didn’t used to bother my stomach–so long as I didn’t eat it before running) I tried some Greek yogurt, and I think my stomach handled it okay. My stomach has been pretty messed up because of the stress of being laid off and looking for a job, so I haven’t experimented much.
• Take my vitamins. Um, semi-fail. I’ve been good with my B-vitamins, but I need to get back to my multivitamins.
• Stick to a somewhat normal sleep schedule. I’m awesome at this.
• Make the best of this time I’m not working and try to enjoy at as much as I can. After all, it is summer. Check. Check.

For July:

• stick to 90 percent of my planned workouts
• do yoga at least once a week formally, and do at least a few poses at home everyday.
• chill the eff out. (Please see: most of my stomach problems related to my level of anxiety.)
• Take vitamins.
• Try more recipes. I’m not working and I’m not going away any other weekend in July, so I don’t really have any excuses.

What are your July (or summer) health goals?